Process of making solderless blades for electrical plug caps



June 26, 1951 KLUMPP, JR 2,558,052

PROCESS OF MAKING SOLDERLESS BLADES FOR ELECTRICAL PLUG CAPS Filed March 4, 1948 FIG! 2 000 oo f ,oeo-oooo mac FIG. 3 FIG, 4 FIG. 5

,8 2' l9 I? c v INV ENTOR.- FERDINAND KLUMPRJR Patented June 26, 1951 PROCESS OF MAKING SOLDERLESS BLADES FOR. ELECTRICAL PLUG CAPS Ferdinand Klumpp, Jr., Union, N. J., assignor to Heyman Manufacturing Company, Kenilworth,

Application March 4, 1948, Serial No. 12,967

This invention relates to the construction of a contact blade for plug caps used on the cables of electrical devices. In my application 731,814 filed March 1, 1947, now Patent No. 2,476,738, I have shown and described a solderless blade for plug caps. It is the general object of this invention to provide a plug cap blade that will attain all the objects of the blade of said application to wit, to grip the conductor per se securely without soldering and also securely grip the insulation of the cable or conductor, but accomplish these objects in a cheaper manner by using less material to ofiset increasing cost thereof and processing the same in a new and improved manner to offse at least in part higher labor costs.

My improved device and process of manufacture are shown in the annexed drawing wherein: Figure 1 is a plan View of plug cap blade in different stages of the process of manufacture.

Figure 2 is an end view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end view on an enlarged scale of a single blade.

Figure 4 is a plan view, full size, of one of the new blades assembled to a conductor.

Figure 5 is a plan view, full size, of one of the blades of my application 731,814, now Patent No. 2,476,738.

Figure 6 is a plan view on an enlarged scale showing how I accomplish a considerable saving of material in my new construction. This view also represents on an enlarged scale one end of a blank for forming the blade.

In the drawing wherein like numbers refer to corresponding parts, I is a strip of suitable metal such as brass, of a width suitable for forming the blades directly therefrom. As the strip 1 is passed through a press, rows of holes 2 and 3 are punched therein simultaneously with holes 4 and 5. When the strip I has progressed far enough the compound punch anddie severs the strip along the lines 6'! leaving a very small lug 8 that is preferably partly severed so that the blades may be readily broken off from each other without leaving any material at the lug point which will require any operation thereon, in fact, the place where the lug was is practically imperceptible after the blades are separated. At the same time the material is severed along the lines 9 and Ill between the holes 4 and 5. By cutting the material on the diagonals 9 and I0 sections II and 12 joined by a neck 13 are formed. The width from point to point of section I l indicated by the line 14 is much wider than the width 15 of one of the blades as shown in Figures 1 and 6. The width of section 12 as indicated by line 15 is approxi- 9 Claims. (Cl. 29-15555) mately the same as l5. It will be apparent that the widths l4 and I6 may be varied by changing the angularityof thelines Band [0, but as indicated in Figure 1, the width of the blade B as shown by line I5 is .250" as required by the trade, and I6 is about the same while I4 is approximately .330" giving a width which allows its ends I! and I8 to be bent over and into the insulation ofa conductor C as shown in Figure 4 while the ends I9 and 2B are bent over into contact with the bared end of the conductor C.

During the shearing operation shown by the lines 6 and l a ledge 2| is formed which is adapted to act as a stop orpositioning member for the blade B when it is installed in a plug cap as shown in my patent previouslyreferred. to.

Figures 1 and 2 show the folding steps and I prefer to fold two blades at atime along the line 22 whereby the holes 2 and 3 are brought into alignment and the blades are brought into finished form as shown at the left end of Figure 1.

It will be noted from Figured that the blade B is considerable shorter than the blade shown in Figure 5 both of which are shown at full size; also the width is less as shown by the broken lines 23 and 24 of Figure 6. To get section II of a width equal to line l4 required to go around the insulation of the conductor C, the stock for making the blade wouldhave to be a width between the broken line 23 and 24 and to get the blade to a standard width as shown by the full lines, Figure 6, considerable material would have to be sheared off.

By my new process of cutting and forming the sections H and I2 I have saved considerable valuable material and by forming or processing two blades at a time and eliminating other operations, I have saved much time in the construction of the blades. Not only does my present process save material and time in the construction of the blades per se but there is a further and material saving in utilizing the strip as a whole and feeding the same, after the blades are formed as shown at the left end of Figure 1, along to an assembly stand where the conductors are fastened to the blades before separating them from each other and the strip, or the blades may be fed from the strip into a fixture where they are individually held and separated and then the conductors attached thereto, but I prefer the first procedure as the strip helps feed and hold the blades for the cable assembly. Either procedure saves time and expense over the usual way of making blades individually and then carrying them to an assembly stand where each one must be picked up and put in a fixture for the usual soldering or fastening operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The process of making solderless blades for electrical plug caps which consists in passing a strip of suitable metal through a punch press, punching two spaced but adjacent rows of holes in cross-wise alignment near one edge of the strip, the row of holes nearest said edge being substantially rectangular in shape while the holes in the inner row have their sides towards the first row of holes substantially parallel with the sides of said first row of holes, shearing on" the metal diagonally starting from the said edge of the strip approximately under the hole to the lower opposite bottom corner of each hole in the row nearest the edge and at the same time shearing on a diagonal in the same general direction as the first shear, the metal from the opposite upper corner of this lower hole to the lower part of the hole in alignment in the inner 'row, at the same time transversely'shearing oil the metal from approximately the center of the hole in the inner row to the opposite edge of the strip except for a small retaining lug, then bending over the sheared portion from said opposite edge toward the edge having the two adjacent rows of holes but terminating near the inner of said two rows of holes, then forming up the metal portions defined bysaid diagonal shearing toprovide fingers to receive the bared end of a conductor and the insulation of the conductor and finally separating the blades at said retainand the bend in the sheared portion takes place midway between the double row of holes.

3. The process of making solderless blades for electrical plug caps as set forth in claim 1 further defined in that the process includes the bending over a positioning ledge, at the time of makin the transverse shears on the edge pposite the edge having the two closely adjacent rows of holes.

- 4. The process of making solderless blades for electrical plug caps which consists in passing a strip of suitable metal through a punch press, punching four rows of holeslongitudinally of the strip, two rows beingnear one edge and spaced apart but a short distance but in transverse alignment, the other rows being toward the opposite edge of the strip and in transverse lines midway between the transverse alignments of the holes near said one edge, shearing on the metal diagonally,*starting from the edge of the strip, at a point so the major'part of the shear will be below the hole, each shear extending to its hole in the row nearest the edge and to the lower part of the hole farthest away from the starting point of the diagonal and at'the same time shearin oil on a diagonal, the metal from an upper corner of this edge positioned hole to the hole in alignment in the inner row, at 'the same time transversely shearing ed the metal from the hole in the inner row to the opposite edge of the strip passing midway between two pair of holes located toward said opposite edge, except for a small retaining lug, and then bending over a positioning ledge at the free sheared edge, then bending over the sheared end having the ledge with the bend coming midway between the second mentioned rows of holes until it engages the metal adjacent the inner holes of the edge rows, then forming up the metal portion defined by said diagonal shearing to provide fingers to receive the bared end of a conductor and the insulation of the conductor.

5. The process of making solderless blades for electrical plug caps as set forth in claim 4 further defined in that the holes in the outer edge row of holes are rectangular in shape while the inner of said two rows is semicircular in shape with the shears, in which said retaining lug is located, coming into the curved part of the holes while each diagonal cut extends from the diameter of the semi-circular hole to a point near the upper right hand corner of the rectangular shaped hole which has its diagonal cut from the lower opposite corner to the edge of the strip in the same general direction as the last mentioned diagonal cut.

6. The process of making solderless blades for electrical plug caps as set forth in claim 4 further defined in that the process includes forming at least two of the blades simultaneously.

7. The process of making solderless blades for electrical plug caps which consists in passing a strip of suitable metal through a punch press, punching two spaced but adjacent rows of holes in crosswise alignment near one edge of the strip, shearing on" the metal diagonally without scrap from the said edge of the strip to each hole in the row nearest the edge, the major portion of the shear being below this hole and at the same time shearing off the metal diagonally without scrap from the upper part of this edge positioned hole to the hole in alignment in the inner row, at the same time transversely shearing ed the metal without scrap from the hole in the inner row to the opposite edge of the strip except for a retaining lug, said holes having a shape and the diagonal cuts being positioned and having a length and angularity so as to form two pairs of ends, the outer pair of which has its extremities at least further apart than the width of the blade so the outer ends will be long enough to grip around the insulation of a conductor to which the blade may be attached, while the inner of said end will enclose and grip the bare conductor portion, then bending over the sheared portion from said opposite edge toward the edge having the two adjacent rows of holes but terminating near the inner of said two rows of holes, then forming up the metal portions defined by said diagonal shearing to provide each with fingers to respectively receive the bared end of a conductor and the insulation of the conductor, then passing the formed blades while on the strip to an assembly stand and attaching conductors to the blades by bending said fingers into holding position and then separating the blades from the strip.

8. The process of making solderless blades for electrical plug caps which consist in passing a strip of suitable metal through a punch press, punching two spaced but adjacent rows of holes in crosswise alignment near one edge of the strip, shearin off the metal without waste diagonally from the said edge of the strip to each hole in the row nearest the edge, at least the greater part of each shear being under its hole and at the same time shearing ofi the metal diagonally without waste from the upper edge of this hole to the hole in alignment in the inner row, said holes having a form and the shearing being at an angle such that ends or fingers will be produced so that one pair of said ends or fingers will be long enough to securely grip a bared portion of a conductor to which the blade is to be attached while the other pair of ends will be long enough to circumferentially grip the insulation of the conductor when they are forced around it, at the same time transversely shearing off the metal without waste from the hole in the inner row to the opposite edge of the strip except for a small retaining lug, then bending over the sheared portion from said opposite edge toward the edge havin the two adjacent rows of holes but terminating near the inner of said two rows of holes, then forming up the metal ends defined by said diagonal shearing to provide fingers to receive the bared end of a conductor and the insulation of the conductor.

9. The process of making solderless blades for electrical plug caps which consists in passing a strip of suitable metal through a punch press and at least punching two rows of holes near one edge of the strip, said rows being spaced apart only a relatively short distance with the holes in transverse alignment, shearing off without scrap the metal diagonally from the edge of the strip-beginning at a point such that the greater length of the shear will be below the hole and extending to substantially the farthest corner of each hole in the row nearest the edge of the strip and at the same time shearing 01f on a diagonal without scrap, the metal from the upper edge of the holes in the edge row to 6. the holes in alignment in the other row, the angularity of the diagonals bein such as to form two substantially parallelogram shaped sections connected by a neck the inner section having an over-all length between its opposite free ends less than the corresponding ends of the outer section, at the same time transversely shearing ofi the metal without scrap from each hole in the inner of said two rows of holes to the opposite edge of the strip except for a retaining lug, at substantially the same time with the shearing, bendin over a positioning ledge at the free sheared edge and bending over the sheared end having the ledge, with the bend located so as to form a folded contact blade, then forming the said ends defined by said diagonals ready to receive a conductor.

FERDINAND KLUMPP, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 962,921 Schneider June 28, 1910 1,067,702 Wiegand July 15, 1913 1,309,887 Fulton July 15, 1919 2,116,269 Kobzy May 3, 1938 2,203,122 Anderson June 4, 1940 2,231,348 Reutter Feb. 11, 1941 2,231,349 Reutter Feb. 11, 1941 2,273,099 Gilbert Feb. 17, 1942 2,309,311 Grohsgal Jan. 26, 1943 2,396,913 Carlson Mar. 19, 1946 2,406,144 Herman Aug. 20, 1946 2,476,738 Klumpp July 19, 1949 2,483,424 Martines Oct. 4, 1949 

